Bohemia, Feminism, Socialism, and Class: The Geographical and Historical Determinants of Second-Wave Feminist Politics

• In Event: 503 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Paper Session. History and Social Movements

Abstract

In this paper I trace the historical origins of opposing feminist identities within the second wave feminist movement to feminist identities developed in first wave feminism. I argue that distinct regional left political cultures institutionalized in two major U.S. cities, New York City and Chicago, in the late 1800s and early 1900s affected feminist movements in their early moments in these two cities, producing distinct styles of first wave feminism. These geographically distinct styles persisted over fifty years, re-emerging in the 1960s as the second wave women's liberation movement was forming. The emerging debates within the second wave movement were not arbitrary but were a continuation of a long history of feminist debates. Understanding the feminist positions taken by women in the second wave requires understanding the history of feminist politics, and this history, I argue, is tied to region. I conclude that scholars should pay attention to 1) how regional cultures and structures impact social movements and 2) the continuity of regionally distinct movements over time, when analyzing any one moment of a social movement. In tracing these regional histories I additionally uncover the lost history of radical feminism, a stream of feminism previously described as unique to the second wave. I show that radical feminism existed in almost exact antecedent form in New York City in the first wave, predating second wave radical feminism by 50 years.

Author

• Laura K. Nelson, Northwestern University